Maori Mother and Child
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a collective interdisciplinary performance piece that explores the ever-changing role of the mother in the modern world.
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an original theatrical invention that combines the music, writings, images, and video from over 35 artists, both living and dead.
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a dynamic portrait of mothering that brings together painters, poets, dramatists, photographers, musicians, actors, fiction writers, non-fiction writers, filmmakers, and historians from across the DC area.
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performed in 2013 at various locations in Washington, DC.
Although the work will be narrative in nature, its four-dimensional portrayal of mothering has four thematic sections:
Jordanian Mother and Child
Mother & Childbearing
Mother & Work
Doing Laundry on the Camino
Mother & Loss
Grief by Walter LangleyMother & Loss
Mother & Identity
Self-Portrait in a Turban with Julie by Vigee-Le Brun
MotherStory will depict each of these four themes through a dynamic combination of text, image, music, and video. The piece will combine ancient and traditional poems and prose from around the globe with contemporary pieces by local poets and fiction writers, all woven together with original historical narration. Select Washington area visual artists, photographers, and musicians will provide more than accompaniment for the texts; their original compositions will speak directly to the issues facing mothers today. Additionally,
MotherStory will tap directly into the District’s diverse communities through a series of gatherings entitled “MotherSpeaks”. At some of these gatherings mothers will address the issues that confront them as they struggle to maintain their families and communities in these difficult times. At others they will create art with their children, combining visual imagery with text. Poetic video montages will document these MotherSpeaks sessions and be included in the live performance. Four performers will present this collective community creation about the far-too-invisible subject of mothering, which will offer audiences a unique opportunity to better understand and celebrate motherhood in their lives and in the lives of the people they love.